Our body’s life forces, microscopic energy factories called Mitochondria, are under attack. These are the Superheroes of our Wellness and they are under attack from bad sleep, bad diet, lack of exercise and the toxins flooding our lives.
This causes mitochondrial dysfunction and is a characteristic of ageing and all chronic diseases. For example, loss of function in our mitochondria can result in the excess fatigue and other symptoms in just about every chronic disease you can imagine. I became a veritable ‘mitochondriac’ when I realised the importance of these superheroes on my health!
Here is a list of 7 ways that your Mitochondria play a part in your health, (and why you should become a Mitochondria too!)
– Heart Health
Your heart muscle cells contain far more mitochondria than any other organ in your body! About 5,000 mitochondria per cell that need to be working efficiently to to keep the heart pumping 24/7 over a lifetime. By comparison, the tissue of the biceps muscle has about 200 mitochondria per cell.
– Nutrition
You’ll hate me for saying this (although it won’t come as a shock)… the typical nutrient-poor western diet filled with sugar and processed, fried, and hydrogenated oils is one of the BIG enemies to our Mitochondrial Superheroes. Bruce Ames, Ph.D., a respected molecular biologist and ageing expert at the University of California, regards the common nutrient deficiencies generated by the American diet as a profound cause of mitochondrial decay and accelerated ageing and disease.
There are countless shakes and diet plans on the market today that claim to be the answer to weight loss and better health, but it can be overwhelming to choose the solution that is going to work for you. And I believe the answer lies in real food and that your body has all the answers you need.
Everybody’s body is unique in how it responds to certain foods and what it is lacking. Companies out there certainly have great solutions. There are real green tea (as opposed to teabag-tea) and coffee (rich in polyphenols) MLMS, shakes like Isagenix and Herbalife and intermittent fasting techniques, as well as products to experience therapeutic ketones and ketosis diets. These are great “mito boosters”! But what if you could eat real, whole food that is tailored to your chemical makeup? Click here to see exactly how
– Physical Activity
Many types of exercise are mitochondria-healthy. Walking is great. Weight training is great. Yet, the best type of exercise for your mitochondria is high-intensity interval training. This is where you do something at a high intensity for a short amount of time , take a break and then repeat. This has the amazing effect of burning fat even after you have finished exercising! And it is GREAT for your Mitochondria. It’s like revving up the little engines of those powerhouses so that they work at their best potential! What you need to see though, is how the exercise you are doing affects your heart rate. If your heart rate isn’t up sufficiently, it isn’t high intensity! There will also be other exercise that is suited to your lifestyle and your goals. The first step is understand your DNA.
– Stress Reduction
Stress is bad for our Mitochondrial Superheroes, so get your stress under control. I know that is easier said than done, but believe me, I have a lot of experience in this area! A great place to start is to understand your triggers of stress. It might not be obvious and it might be a surprise that what may feel like a little stress on the outside is causing a whole heap of damage in the inside! Tracking your mood and how you are responding to daily events is key, and if you’re open, I can then help you relieve the stress you are feeling with coaching, aromatherapy, supplements (see below), and more.
– Sleep
Did you know you have a magic sleep number? We hear we should sleep 6-8 hours a night, right? Not true. Each of us has an ideal There is no one-size-fits-all answer. Many factors (like age, our body’s base or innate need for sleep, age, sleep quality, pregnancy, and sleep debt) play a role in establishing our particular “magic number.” Plus, many things contribute to whether our sleep is quality sleep. We can sleep for 10 hours, but it is not necessarily of quality enough to support our mitochondria. The first thing to do is identify the quality of our sleep and understand our sleep trends, so we can see what makes us sleep well and what makes us sleep badly.
– Toxic Reduction
We encounter toxins daily and the organs that help to filter toxins are overloaded. It is really important to start reducing the toxins we expose ourselves to by eating clean and removing chemicals from our daily routines, but there is one damaging threat to our mitochondrial health that you can’t see and it”s everywhere. Read more here!
– Supplementation
Nutritional supplements can make a big difference in our mitochondrial health, but not all supplements are made equally and many are synthetic versions of the nutrients we need, which the body cannot process and so, are waste of money. A multivitamin is great, but I’m learning MORE is not necessarily BETTER! Every micro-nutrient has a level at which it’s useful and a level at which you get too much. And one size does not fit all, so what you need will be different to the next person…The particular supplements you need should be tailored to your body’s particular needs. For how, click here
Hope that was helpful. For more info reach out to me!
Clare Williamson 